St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-11-06
AN OLD-TIME MURDER.
How a Ghosts Appearance Led to
Some Important Discoveries
The Jury Disagree With the

The death of Lem Mercer, farmer
who for many years had been resident
of Peasants county, Va, has had the
effect of reviving, in a most decided
manner, local interest in most horrid
and unprovoked murder, which, some
thirty-fve years ago. produced ire
mendOuS sensation all along the upper
Ohio valley, from Wheeling to Parkers-
burg, distance of nearly 100 miles.
The crime in question was committed
in WetZel county, and the victim was
John Gamble, a prosperous citizen, who
resided with his family few miles from
the town of New Martinsville, then, as
now, the county seat. Gamble was of
speculative turn of mind, land frequently
visited New Martinsville to dispose of
live stock or whatever else he had to
realize upon. At such times, after find
ing a customer, Gamble would have sew
eral hundred dollars in his possession,
and there were frequent predictions,
from the careless manner i'll which he
displayed his money when under the
influence of liquor, that some day there
would be tragedy and that he would
be the victim.
One day late in the summer of 1858,
Gamble, who lived on the river shore
almost directly opposite the little town
of SardiS, came up to New MartinSvllle
with some portable property of some
sort or other, which he disposed of, real
izing theretrom about 500. Mercer was
in town that day, and the two men,
being well known to each other, soon
got to drinking together. Toward dark
Gamble concluded that he would start
for home, and as MERGERS route also lay
n,-srr fOr..a mil 10 hnfnrn
turned off to go through the hills, he
told Gamble he would accompany him
thus far on his Journey. The two men
took one more drink together, and then
started Off along the river road, Gamble
being more under the influence of liquor
than his companion. Gamble was never
seen alive afterward. He not arriving
at his home that night, his family and
friends the next day caused an extended
search to be made, but all to nOpurpOse.
No trace of the missing man could be
found. Mercer was questioned, but he
insisted that he left his companion at
the point their paths diverged, and that
he had no knowledge whatever of his
fate.
FINDING CANDLES BODY.
Thus matters rested for a week or
two, when the body of the missing man
was found lodged against some rocks,
in the channel of the river, twenty
miles or more below the point where
Mercer claimed to have left him. No
one could account for his death, and it
was urged by some that, being intOX-
icated, he had simply fallen over the
precipitous bank of the stream, and that
death by drowning had resulted. Others,
however, insisted that a crime had been
committed, basing their claim mainly
upon the fact that the remains were
partially disrobed and had been stripped
of everything of value.
Thus matters went on for two or
three months, when events of a rather
unusual and sensational nature trans
PRED. After the custom of the coun-
try, there was great corn huSking bee
given, about the first of November, at
the barn of John Travis, a few miles
from New Martinsville, and the boys
and girls from all the surrounding
farms were there, together with not a
few of elder years. Among others a
crowd of fifteen or twenty young men
went out from New MartinSville, and
after night spent in mingled work,
kissing and cider drinking the town
boys started to return home. The party
kept together until they came to the
brow of the immense hill which bounds
the town on the east, where halt was
called. The hillside was very steep, and
as there were two paths leading down
to the river bottom, one direct, but
difficult and dangerous, and the other,
while little longer, comparatively easy,
a dispute arose as to which should be
taken. The dispute waXed warm, and
finally the party separated into two
rival factions, each agreeing to take one
of the routes, and wager being made
conditioned that the party last arriving
on the court house square should buy a
gallon of whisky.
CURIOUS ADVENTURE.
The party which took the longest but
less precipitous route came out on the
river bottom about a mile below the
town, and just south of the location of a
swampy piece of land. The owner of
this land had cut deep ditch through
the high bank of the river to drain the
hollow behind, and the depression thus
formed had assumed the shape of a
small ravine, full of brush and small
trees. A path ran along the river bank,
parallel with the stream, and thus
crossed this ravine at right angles. This
path was the one taken by Mercer and
Gamble on the night when the latter
met his death, and the spot about the
little ravine was an extremely lonely
one at the hour when the belated party
of corn huskers arrived upon the scene.
The young men had been travelling
at their utmost speed to avoid
having to buy the jug of whisky, and
by the time they came to the ravine one
of their number, John Hineman, who
was the proprietor of tavern and sa-
loon in town, was so badly blown that
he could no longer keep up. He told
his companions not to risk losing the
wager on his account, but to hurry on
to the appointed rendezvous and thus
win the bet, and he would follow after
he had become rested a bit, and help to
drain the jug the others would have to
fill.
Hineman sat down upon the edge of
the little ravine to rest, and the re-
mainder of the party hurried on to town.
They had barely got beyond hearing
when Hineman was startled by slight
noise behind him, and on looking around
he was Mortified at seeing a tall figure,
rObed from neck to heels in white, stand
ing within a few feet of him. The
frightened man managed to call out,
"Who's there?" to which muffied voice
dis blAtll ~ was tlIC OPillt VI
John Gamble who had been murdered
close by. Hineman managed to screw
up courage enough to ask who commit
ted the crime, when the ''spirit'' re-
piled: Lem Mercer" The Whitehead
figure then stole slowly and softly away.
and Hineman lost no time in getting
upon his legs and hurrying to town. He
made his appearance on the public
square more dead than alive, but after
a pull or two at the jug, managed to re-
late to his companions what had Oc-
Cured. The next morning party Wis
tied the ravine, and after thorough
search of the locality succeeded III dis
covering some articles which were rec
ognized as belonging to the murdered
man.
MERGERS TRIAL.
The day following this Mercer came
nm 70 NayU Martincyilla and IL was